


Partners

by sanctuary_for_all



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: ColdWave Week 2017, Gen, M/M, Pre-Series, Pre-Slash, Their history fascinates me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 10:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11735160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Len crouched down in front of Mick, looking him square in the eye. “I need a partner.”000After Mick saves Len's life in juvie, Len realizes that Mick needs a little saving, too. (Pre-series for both "Flash" and "Legends").





	Partners

Mick had been sitting by the wall, staring at the flame of his stolen cigarette lighter, for more than an hour now. It was like Len wasn’t even there.

Which was better, really. He was heading back to Lisa tomorrow – who’d better be fine, or dear old Dad was going to wake up to a shank between the ribs – and he’d probably never see Mick again anyway. Len would go back to protecting Lisa from Lewis, and Mick would age out of juvie in six months and go off and do whatever the hell he wanted. They probably wouldn’t even run into each other on jobs, since Mick only seemed interested in burning stuff. Arsonists could get decent work, but they ran with different crews than thieves did.

Besides, it wasn’t like Mick would even care. It wasn’t a surprise – no one cared, really – even though Mick had taken on an entire gang to save Len’s life all those months ago. Even though he’d stuck by Len’s side ever since, making crazy eyes at anyone who looked at him funny and taking a few more shanks to the arm for his troubles. Even though he’d made Len feel _safe_ for the first time in his entire fucking life.

That wasn’t… there’d probably been some ulterior motive to it. There always was.

He should leave now, in fact. Go sit at one of the tables and look like a good little prisoner, even though he knew full well that the guards didn’t give a shit as long as they didn’t have to get involved. Still, Mick wasn’t even _trying_ to hide the lighter, and there was always a chance one of the guards would get bored and decide to mess with him over it just for shits and giggles. If Len was smart, he’d stay as far away from Mick as possible until he got sprung.

He took a step back, ready to do just that, when Mick shifted just enough for Len to see the gash on his neck. It was fresh, not even stitched, and a red-hot anger sliced through the cold in Len’s chest. “When the hell did that happen?” he asked, leaning forward to grab the burning cigarette lighter out of Mick’s hand. “And why the _hell_ didn’t you see the nurse?”

Mick didn’t look nearly as startled as he should have been. “Give that back,” he said flatly. “Or I break your teeth.”

Len wasn’t worried. Mick had threatened him before, those moments he’d found Len particularly annoying, but he’d never once followed through on any of them. “Tell me what happened,” Len said, keeping the lighter out of easy reach, “and you won’t have to mess up your knuckles.”

Mick’s jaw tightened. “Not your problem.”

Len’s eyes narrowed. “Is someone trying to give you shit?” He’d gotten good at retaliation during his time here, and though he couldn’t stay he’d do what he could to send a message to whatever assholes thought Mick was a target.

Mick shrugged, expression deliberately blank in a way Len knew his own had often been. “Got bored. Needed something to do after the lights went out.” He flashed his manic grin, the one that usually meant someone’s head was about to go into a wall. “Got a souvenir.”

Staring down at him, Len finally recognized the wild light in Mick’s eyes. He’d seen it in some of the guys who ran with Lewis, the ones he inevitably heard later had gotten themselves killed doing something stupid. What he hadn’t realized until now, until he’d met Mick, was that dying was what they’d _wanted_. Mick, damn him, wasn’t planning on surviving juvie.

But… he hadn’t done anything batshit while Len was there. He’d stared at flames sometimes, got in fights when there was a reason, but never for the hell of it. He’d decided to help Len stay alive, and to do that he needed to stay alive, too.

Fine, then.

Len crouched down in front of Mick, looking him square in the eye. “I need a partner.” His voice was hard, like he was giving an order.

He expected Mick to grab the lighter out of his hand, tell him to fuck off or something along those lines. Instead, he went still. “Yeah?”

Len nodded, pretending he couldn’t feel something wrench in his chest. “We’d have to get hired on with other crews at first, but it’d be research for our own jobs. We split everything we get, 50-50.”

Mick just watched him, something deep in his eyes that looked a hell of a lot like fear. Finally, his jaw tightened. “You don’t need me.”

Len didn’t need anyone. But he had two reasons to keep living – keep Lisa alive, and spite his father. If he could help Mick stay alive, that would be a third reason.

“I need someone I can trust to watch my back.” Len straightened, stepping back. “The only other person that qualifies is still wearing diapers.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Len couldn’t read the expression on his face, and he had no idea what Mick saw in his. Finally, Mick gave him a tight nod.

Len tossed him the cigarette lighter, then turned and walked away.

000

Six months later, Len was sitting on the hood of a stolen car near the front of the juvenile detention center. He’d gotten pretty good at boosting cars, choosing just the right ones that wouldn’t get reported right away and disabling alarms, but he didn’t think he’d stick with it much longer. It was getting boring.

He tapped his fingers in rhythm on the metal, telling himself he’d give it another hour. He knew he’d gotten the day right, and unless Mick had done something stupid they always spat releases out as early in the day as they could. He’d gotten here early enough that Mick couldn’t have snuck off before he’d shown up. So if Mick never came out….

A familiar chill stole over him at the thought.

Len looked up at the sky, thinking about the toddler he’d left curled under his blanket at home. She was _his_ , and even if that was all the universe ever gave him that was still more than some people ended up with. He could work with that, would keep her safe and become the greatest crime boss Central City had ever seen. He’d take care of himself, kill anybody who stood against him, and one day he’d put a bullet right between Lewis’s eyes. He’d be _fine_ on his own, he didn’t need—

The sound of the gate opening made Len’s head jerk back to the view in front of him. Mick was coming out, all his earthly possessions in a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He kept his head down as he crossed the street, clearly not wanting to draw anyone’s attention.

Len’s chest suddenly hurt, and he had to clear his throat before he could trust his voice. “Mick!”

Mick jerked to a halt, not moving for a couple of seconds. Then he looked up, turning to the spot a little ways down the street where Len had parked the car. He just stared at it for what seemed like a small eternity, then hurried over. “What the hell is that?”

Len’s smirk was dangerously close to a grin. There was a feeling in his chest he didn’t recognize, light and buoyant. “I didn’t think you’d been in for _that_ long, Mick.”

“I know what a car is, damn it,” Mick groused. “But you’re barely tall enough to see over the fucking dashboard.”

Len jumped off the car, patting him condescendingly on the shoulder as he moved around behind him. “Conveniently for both of us, you look plenty old enough to drive legally.”

He went around to the passengers side, getting in and buckling his seatbelt, and after a beat Mick threw his bag into the back and slid into the driver’s side. When he glanced down at the ignitions switch, Len lifted a hand. “You have to—“

“I know how to hotwire a car, idiot.” There was something almost warm about the exasperation in Mick’s voice, and he twisted the wires with a brisk efficiency. As the engine roared to life, Mick hesitated a moment before looking over at Len. “You sure about this?” he asked quietly.

It didn’t matter what variant of the question Mick meant, since Len knew the answer to all of them. Mick was _his_ , enough that he’d stayed alive for him. Everything else was just details.

“Absolutely.” Len leaned back against the seat. “But you’d better put on your seatbelt.”

Mick looked at him like he was nuts, but Len just raised an eyebrow at him. Finally, Mick sighed and put on his seatbelt, but as he did Len could see the corners of his mouth twitch upward just a little.

Then he put his hand on the gearshift, shooting Len an amused look. “Where to, Boss?”

Len smirked. “Surprise me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
